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Saturday, April 19, 2008

Spike and Max's turn for treats...

So I was busy making yet another batch of those tasty Chicken Breakfast Sausagesthis morning when I heard little yaps and cries when the pups came in from doing their business outside. I first thought it was because they looked over on the kitchen counter and saw the stack of sausages.

A few minutes went by and then Jeff walked the dogs through the kitchen and had them sit at my feet. Wondering what was going on, I looked down to see that their little container of homemade dog treats was also at my feet completely empty. I think someone (who will remain nameless... *cough*) has been a little extra generous in handing them out!

Since it was pretty gloomy outside and we didn't have a lot planned today anyway, I went ahead and made a new batch of treats for them. We haven't prepared any cheesy goodies for them lately, so that's how these Crunchy Cheddar Oat Snacks came about.

To give the oats a chance to soften a bit, we soaked them in boiling water, along with a few tablespoons of softened butter. There are a couple elements that add a crunchy factor into these treats - one of them is from the hearty addition of yellow cornmeal. To tempt the pups with more flavor, we also tossed in a couple teaspoons worth of chicken bullion (I don't even know why I had this in the pantry as I've never used it!). After some milk, an egg and a full cup of white cheddar cheese are added, we stirred in the duo of flours cup by cup. Start out with the two cups in total, but you will probably need to add more as you go while you are kneading the dough. It will be ready to be worked with when you've added enough flour so the dough is no longer sticky and kneaded long enough to become smooth.

You can roll the dough as thick as about 1/2" or so, but our pups tend to like them on the thinner side, so I aimed for 1/4" thick. You can re-roll the dough as many times that you need too - if it starts to snap back while rolling, just cover it and set it aside for about 10 minutes to relax the dough. The treats are done baking when they are firm to the touch and have a good golden tinge to them. If you want them extra crunchy (good for the teeth!), turn the oven off and partially open the oven door - leave them in the oven until they are completely cool and they are good to go! We tend to keep a portion of their homemade treats in the refrigerator and store the rest in the freezer to keep them fresh, especially since we usually get several dozen out of each batch.

Spike was so excited he nearly fainted!

And Max was quite happy once they finally cooled off enough for him to test!

Love your blog, Joe. I really like your pictures, recipes and how everything is so organized. I have plenty of fresh sage and thyme in my garden and will be making those sausage patties. Are they freezable for later use?